A radiographer is an allied health professional who uses a variety of imaging techniques to generate images of patients that can be used in diagnosis and treatment of disease. A radiology technician should not be confused with a radiology technologist. Both are similar in the sense that for either career, technical school training is required. However, technician programs last for around one and a half years while technologists may need a four year program. The job of a radiology technician is to prepare patients for a procedure, set up the equipment, take the x-ray and take the developed x-ray films to a radiology technologist or a doctor for interpretation. If you have a dream to pursue a career in the health profession, radiography could be it.
The Pros of Being a Radiographer
• The training is only 18 months so if you are lucky to find a job you can be promoted to a radiology technologist after a few years of experience and certification.
• A radiology technician works under the supervision of doctors and technologists therefore gains practical hands-on training and experience from professionals that you cannot easily find in any school.
• There are many job prospects because you can easily find over ten radiology technicians working in one laboratory in healthcare facilities like hospitals and diagnostic imaging clinics. According to statistics, jobs for radiology technicians are expected to rise by 15% by 2016.
• There is advancement in technologies hence making the job easier and minimizing the health dangers from radiation.
• The annual cost of college fees is approximately $15,000 which is so much less in comparison to other careers in the health profession.
• According to the American Society of Radiology Technologists, a starting salary of a radiologist technician may range from $35,000 and $40,000; this is higher than in other medical professions.
The Cons of Being a Radiology Technician
• One of the major cons of this career is the competition for the best jobs. This is mainly caused by lack of enough education.
• Another disadvantage of this career is the physical work you have to do, you may have to spend the whole day on your feet and even help lift patients who are unable to lift themselves.
• Being a radiology technician you are at a high risk of being exposed to radiation if you do not take proper precautions. This could lead to serious medical problems in the future.
• Most radiology technicians report working overtime and they can be paged and called in to work while off-duty. This can be very stressful especially to the family of the technician
• Another disadvantage of being a radiology technician is that if you only have an associate’s degree then you must obtain 24 continued education credits every two years to maintain certification.
By looking at these cons and pros of being a radiology technician one can see that this career is both demanding and rewarding.